Catheters with removable needle inserts for guiding the catheters into patients are known. An example of such catheters is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,177,809, issued Dec. 11, 1979. The catheter and removable needle described there includes a wire attached to the needle which can be used to pull the removable needle out of the catheter after the catheter is inserted into a patient. A danger to medical personnel using such catheters with removable needles is the possibility that after a needle has punctured a patient and been contaminated by contact with tissue and fluids, harmful material could be injected into persons handling the needle by unintentionally breaking their skin with the contaminated needle point. The spread of hepatitis to medical personnel treating patients by inadvertent pricking of their skin with contaminated needles is a known hazard that continues to occur. Another fatal disease which can be transmitted by contaminated needles is Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
The present invention avoids the spreading of diseases through inadvertent skin pricking by contaminated removable needles from catheters by providing a means and method for withdrawing removable needles directly into a totally encasing sheath. The contaminated removable needles can then be safely handled and disposed.